Mid-chassis or underbody plows and scrappers are well known vis. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,031,966; 4,337,832. Such plows have been designed to fold upwardly for storage, c.f. U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,966 depicting rearward folding.
In designing an underbody plow or scrapper with a folding blade it is desirable to provide adjustability to raise or lower the blade, and to tilt the blade, raising its outer ends up and down about a horizontal axis that is generally pointed outwardly from the blade surface. Blades are often required to be angled to the left and right about a vertical axis. It is also desirable when the plow blade is light, to provide a supplementary force-control mechanism that will apply a downward force to the plow blade to maintain it in contact with the surface being plowed with the appropriate level of pressure. It would be highly desirable to combine these features with an under body plow having a storage feature that would permit it to be raised above the road surface when not deployed.
These features of control should ideally be achievable, in whole or in part, at minimal cost and with a minimal addition of weight to the vehicle.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an underbody blade support system that has various combinations of the above features combined with simplicity and low cost.
The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention in its broadest and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this Specification.